Thursday, August 29, 2013

Colossal chestnuts available fresh in season and dried for year around use.

This vendors specializes in chestnut gift packs for the holidays and sells out early each year. If you're looking for a special "something" for that top-producing employee, or the friends who "have everything," a gift pack from the orchard is a perfect selection.

Nestled in the hills of Oregon's lush Willamette Valley, this orchard produces some of the Northwest's finest quality chestnuts. Established in 1991, the orchard is a state-of-the-art operation.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

This mix combines three all meat treats - Bison Bits, Chicken Crunchies and Turkey Treats - into one package.

Cats are strict carnivores, which means they are designed to get their protein from meat, not plants. Their nutritional needs are different from humans or dogs, omnivores who derive some nutritional support from plant-based proteins.

These treats are 100% meat - bison, chicken, chicken liver, turkey, or 100% fish - squid, shrimp, tilapia, bonito. The moisture level is less than 10% for a longer shelf life.

Aphids are phloem feeders, or plant-sap suckers. They congregate on the growing tips of garden plants or on the underside of the leaves. They are small and round and produce a frass (excrement) called honeydew that collects on the plant leaves, making them sticky.

A garden’s aphid population builds at a very high rate due to asexual reproduction by the females giving birth to already pregnant clones. A female aphid can produce 5 to 12 offspring in one day.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Flint-knapping requires the ability to control the way rocks break when they are struck. The best rock is somewhat brittle and uniform in texture and structure, lacking frost fractures, inclusions, or other flaws. This type of rock is very fine grained or non-grained. The best rocks for flint-knapping are chert, flint, chalcedony, quartzite, jasper, and obsidian. These rock types, when struck with another rock, piece of antler, or bone, will fracture or break in a characteristic pattern called a conchoidal fracture. This creates a rock fragment called a flake.

The production process begins with a piece of raw material, called a core. Flakes are removed by striking the edge of the core with a sharp, forceful blow, in what is called percussion flaking.

Percussion flakes are removed using a hard hammer or soft hammer. Hard hammers are typically made of igneous or metamorphic rocks such as granite, quartz, basalt, or gneiss. Hard hammers tend to pass most of their energy to the core without absorbing much of the force, so they are used to flake large cores of hard materials. A carefully controlled strike is always more important than a hard strike when using a hard hammer.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Cancer researchers at the National Cancer Centre Singapore have discovered that Aristolochic Acid, a natural compound found in Aristolochia plants, is the most potent known carcinogen, causing more DNA mutations than cigarette smoke or ultraviolent light.

The compound has been commonly used in traditional herbal preparations for various health problems such as weight-loss, menstrual symptoms and rheumatism. It has been officially banned in Europe and North America since 2001 and in Asia since 2003, but its long-term impact is still being felt as patients with associated kidney failure and cancer are still being diagnosed, especially in Taiwan.

In addition, certain AA-containing products are still permitted under supervision and products containing AA are still easily available worldwide, including over the internet.

Friday, August 9, 2013

'Tis said that a meal should include all four flavors -- sweet, sour, pungent and astringent -- and homemade dill pickles or sauerkraut fill the bill for those with a "sour-tooth" to balance their "sweet-tooth."

Mouth puckering foods have been around since the first cider went sour, but processes have improved since the time when the sour taste happened accidentally.

Monday, August 5, 2013

As summer begins to wane, it is time to decide which spring flowering bulbs you want to add to your landscape.

"You need to select good quality bulbs for planting, paying attention to size and firmness. Choose bulbs that are firm and free from soft or rotting spots, and signs of disease," says Patrick Byers, horticulture specialist with University of Missouri Extension.

There are three sources for bulbs: mail order catalog, local nurseries, and discount business.